


Sleeping Dragons

by kwrites2222



Category: Mass Effect: Andromeda
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-02
Updated: 2020-07-02
Packaged: 2021-03-05 03:22:24
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,942
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25027645
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kwrites2222/pseuds/kwrites2222
Summary: hic sunt dracones"here there be dragons": dangerous or unexplored territories
Relationships: Tiran Kandros/Female Ryder, Tiran Kandros/Female Ryder | Sara
Comments: 5
Kudos: 23





	1. A Glance, A Dance, A Fortunate Happenstance

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _May I have this dance?  
>  To make it up to you  
> Can I say something crazy?  
> I love you  
> Give me both your hands  
> To make it up to you  
> Let me spin and excite you _  
> \- From “May I Have This Dance?” by Francis and the Lights

“Care for a drink?”

It had been a simple question, but it had led to complicated things. Complicated wasn’t necessarily _bad_ , just... confusing. And complex. And, frankly, wonderful.

Kandros stirred in his sleep beside her, his body contorted in such a way to make himself comfortable on the bed that wasn’t meant for him to sleep on. She knew it would be a fitful sleep for him, but he hadn’t made any indication whatsoever that he’d wanted to leave after they’d....

 _We slept together_ , Ryder mouthed, tingles rushing through her body as she mentally sorted through her fuzzy recollections of the previous night. The taste of melon liqueur lingered on her lips, flashing her back to that first drink at the bar. Kandros had suggested it: “We’re overworked, underpaid, and in need of some alcohol.”

She hadn’t fought him on it: even though she wasn’t much of a drinker, the sound of an ice cold, alcoholic drink and… well, _sitting down_ , was too good to pass up. Not to mention that she wasn’t going to pass up the chance to have some one on one time with Kandros. She didn’t think the attraction was mutual, of course, so she wasn’t expecting anything – certainly not waking up next to him the next morning – other than perhaps getting a little rowdy, maybe a little karaoke, and making a ton of toasts to the new turian Pathfinder.

The night had started off exactly as she’d expected: with a toast to Rix, and then a toast to the Natanus, and then a toast to the Milky Way, and then (after a few more shots) Kandros made a toast to the two of them. _Together_. She’d laughed it off at first, but he’d given her this hungry look that had made her knees weak. He’d asked her to dance, and they’d only lasted one song before they rushed from the bar to the apartment and… well, she’d been with a turian before, but Kandros was something else almost entirely. Something _good_. Reach _and_ flexibility. It had been intense and passionate and amazing, and it had meant more to her than she’d been expecting.

 _Ugh_. Ryder folded her hands atop her chest and frowned deeply, cursing herself for bringing feelings into it, but she couldn’t damn well help it. She’d had casual ‘flings’ before, and even with a turian, but Kandros was different: he was everything she wanted, and, though it didn’t matter to her at all, she knew that her father would most definitely approve of him.

 _Stop it, Aurora._ She cursed at herself again: what was she going to start planning next – the names of their children? No – she wasn’t that kind of girl. She needed to stop overthinking everything and prepare for Kandros to wake up and ask her why she was still there.

As if on cue, he jolted beside her, turning over towards her and stretching his limbs out from under the covers and slowly blinking his eyes open. His eyes darted across her face, and she braced herself. But instead of the rejection she expected, his mandibles flared out in an obvious smile and he shuffled over towards her in bed, draping his arm over her and pulling her in towards him. In a muffled voice he asked, “Are you hungry? I’m starving.”

Ryder tried to hide her smile, but it was threatening to overtake her face. She tried to hide it with her hand, but he was wise to her: he grabbed her hands and pulled them towards him, putting them to his mouth tenderly. As his lips brushed her skin, she whispered, “I could eat.”

…………………………………

_Aurora._

“What is it, SAM?”

_You have been standing still outside the door to Operations for two minutes. Do you need medical assistance?_

“I… what? No! I mean… I… ugh,” Ryder sighed and rubbed the space between her eyes.

_You’re stuttering._

“And you’re… you’re _annoying_!” she sputtered. “I’m sorry, SAM. I didn’t mean it. I’m just nervous to have to walk past-“

_Tiran Kandros._

“- the security station,” she finished, about to curse SAM inwardly, but stopped herself. Even if she did it inwardly, he’d know. She blew a long breath out from between her teeth and then relented, “Yes. I’m nervous about walking past him.”

_Why? It did not seem as though he regretted your previous encounter. In fact, he seemed eager to repeat it._

“You’re an expert on interpreting turian emotions now?”

_I have several different editions of ‘Alien Body Language’ from the Alliance Archives catalogued, and-_

“Great, thanks, SAM,” she paused, “So you really think he was eager to see me again?”

_Annoyingly so._

She smiled and punched the door command, trying to hide her blush and holding her head as high as possible, stepping into Operations and immediately looking towards the security station. Ryder shoved her hands in her pockets and smirked, walking towards where she could see Lieutenant Sajax and praying to the gods she didn’t believe in that she wasn’t still beet red and, if she was, hoping that Sajax – and Kandros – weren’t able to tell what that meant. As she turned the corner, she involuntarily lit up, expecting to see Kandros, but he wasn’t there. Her face fell just as involuntarily, and she tried to hide her disappointment, but Sajax was apparently very familiar with human facial expressions: she smirked at Ryder knowingly.

“Kandros is in Pathfinder HQ,” Sajax murmured, “with Tann. They’re expecting you.”

Ryder felt the blush creeping down her neck. “Oh, right. Of course. I-“

“Look, Ryder,” Sajax titled her head to the side and Ryder took a step closer. “Kandros was late this morning, and he’s never late. I saw you two at the bar – and leaving it – last night, and…”

“You’ll kill me if I hurt him?”

Sajax chuckled, “Nah, he can look after himself, but I’ve never seen him like that.”

“Late?”

“Happy, carefree, spontaneous… interested in a human. It’s… good. I mean, I don’t usually know what our men look like after they’ve had sex –“

Ryder raised an eyebrow.

Sajax sighed, “- not into men – but… um, this is hard to explain… look, it was more to him than just sex. I know that humans aren’t so well versed at reading turian expressions. You lot don’t have plates or the body language that we do, and I like you, Ryder. Kandros _obviously_ likes you. If I can help, I will.”

She took a step back. “I… well, thank you, Sajax.”

One of Sajax’s brow plates raised. “So it was more than just sex for you, too?”

“Are you always this blunt?”

“It’s a turian thing – you’d do well to learn that. And you didn’t say no.”

Ryder smiled, but didn’t respond, bowing out of the security office, and walking up towards Tann’s office, her heart pounding.


	2. Professionalism

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  _Caught up in ancient history  
>  I didn't believe in destiny  
> I look up you're standing next to me  
> What a feeling_  
> \- From “Brighter Than Sunshine” by Aqualung

Ryder felt her heart pound in her ears as she hit the entry to Pathfinder HQ, almost jumping out of her skin as Tann’s aide greeted her happily.

“Hi! I mean,” Ryder cleared her throat, “Hi. Tann summoned me?”

“Ah, yes!” the aide chirped, “He and Officer Kandros are waiting for you in his office.”

Ryder felt her throat tighten when she heard his name, but forced out a smile to the aide and felt her legs begin to move, climbing the stairs, rounding the corner, and then climbing again to where she could see Tann standing, his hands clasped behind his back, staring at the holo in the centre of the room.

Kandros’ unmistakable armour caught her eye as she neared the top of the stairs: he was standing on the other side of the holo, his arms folded across his chest, a deep-seated frown contorting his facial plates. As she materialized in view, however, his body language changed immediately, and he dropped his arms and lit up, or at least she thought he did. Whatever it was, he certainly looked less pissed.

She flashed him a bright smile, Sajax’s voice resonating in her head, and blushed again. Damn her fair skin tone: it was giving her away.

“Ah. Ryder,” Tann’s voice brought her out of her stupor, and she felt her blush retreat. “You’re just in time.”

Kandros stepped out from behind the holo to stand closer to the two of them, and from behind her Avitus Rix rushed up the stairs.

“Sorry I’m late,” Rix told them casually, “I got cornered by Addison.”

They all gave him knowing – and sympathetic – nods, silent until Tann cleared his throat, “We need to discuss the next steps for the turians. And for you, Pathfinder Rix. I understand that you, much like Ryder, were thrown into this position.”

“I was, but Macen entrusted me this position. I won’t let him down,” Rix told Tann confidently.

Tann stiffened. “Well, you can’t let down the dead. I appreciate your confidence, but we must take things seriously. You will need to lead a team to help recover the stasis pods from Ark Natanus: we still have a few thousand turian souls that need to be transferred to the Nexus.”

“Of course,” Rix answered, straightening up himself. “When can I leave?”

Tann looked shocked, but pleased. “Your crew will meet you at the docks at 1700 hours. Until then, however, I thought it would be best if you went over… erm, _best practises_ with Ryder.”

Ryder snorted and shook her head. “ _’Best Practises’_ , Tann? You can’t write a book about these things.”

“Normally, I would not leave ‘writing the book’ to someone like _you_ , Ryder, but we must have some kind of procedural manual.”

Without seeming like he really meant to, Kandros growled, “Careful, Tann. We wouldn’t be where we are without Ryder.”

She gave him a grateful smile and turned to Tann. “Fine. You want someone to write the book? Get me some dictation software for my omni tool. And trust me: Rix knows what he’s doing. He doesn’t need the book.”

Tann pursed his lips and deflated. “Fine. It’s worked for us before. Why not now? But if this goes wrong…”

“Yeah, yeah,” she responded flippantly, “I’ll take the blame.”

………………………………………

Her omni tool pinged as she was shaking Rix’s hand at the docks before he took off for Elaaden, and she had barely snoozed it to properly see the turian Pathfinder off when another message hit – this one was marked urgent.

Rix had chuckled and promised to send her regular updates before he cheerily walked towards his ship with his new crew, and she’d almost forgotten about the messages awaiting her.

Both were from Kandros:

_Aurora, please meet me in Nexus Operations._

And the other, marked ‘urgent’:

_Update on the Strike Teams?_

She raised an eyebrow: an update about the Strike Teams wasn’t really an urgent matter. If something bad had happened, that was a Kandros problem, not hers. Unless something went wrong on a mission _she_ sent them on, and he wanted to give her shit because of it. Or, she hoped, it could be something different – perhaps something _personal_?

Aurora scolded herself inwardly: she was acting like a teenager. She was acting _exactly_ like she did when she was a teenager, in fact: she’d had a photo of the Spectre Nihlus Kryik saved on her omni tool well through school and into her career, and… well, she probably still had it, in fact. It wasn’t like she was obsessive, she had simply _admired_ Kryik, and now she was enjoying the attention from Kandros. That was all it was, _right_?

Taking a deep breath and trying to quell the anxiety she felt bubbling to the surface, she walked towards the transport and hit the button with a trembling hand.


End file.
